Trout Creek ER 107 November 14 2010

I was in the ER for about 2 hours plus travel to and from. It was very quiet with minimal wind, cloud, some sun and 4 degrees C at 8.15. There were trace patches of snow above 600m.

I saw or heard 7 bird species, about right for this time of year; all but one were expected forest birds. A lone magpie was a welcome surprise as I seldom see one in the ER as they are more grassland and human habituated.

No flowers were found, but I pulled out 3 Sulphur Cinquefoil plants that I missed among the 15 I pulled out last month. I also saw 3 small knapweed rosettes, the first ones this year.

A fence post is rotted out at the top of the East ridge where Sara and Erin replaced fallen comrades last year with `T-bar. There are 9 posts along the fence at the talus slope that need fixing. Someone stole the ER sign from the fallen fence. There is also a minor repair job that needs doing on the fence at the 12th green of the golf course. Also, the new stile needs to be stained.

Speaking of the 12th green, I found 2 Ponderosa Pines, about 30cm. dbh. I estimate, cut down on the ER near the old stile and another of the same size cut down on the golf course side adjacent to the fence. The trees were live as evidenced by a few green branches left on the ground near the cuttings, The most egregious aspect of this is that the rest of the branches and bucked up trees were thrown into the Trout Creek canyon on the ER side and it appears that all but one log sled to the bottom, maybe into Trout Creek! All this was only about 2m from the site where 2-3 bug-killed trees were cut down on the ER, with Parks knowledge and approval, last year. I wonder if you or your colleagues are aware of this latest incident. No other sign of human activity on the ER, thank goodness!

Cheers.....Laurie